Music & Royal Family

The piano of Queen Elisabeth is a historic concert grand piano from 1910, from the Steinway brand, model D. King Albert I buys the instrument as a gift for Queen Elisabeth to celebrate their tenth wedding anniversary. During the First World War, this piano has a special history: In order to raise the morale of the Belgian troops and the wounded, the Queen ensures that her instrument is brought close to the front. The piano resounds during memorable concerts by her close friend and world-renowned violinist Eugène Ysaÿe at Hotel l’Océan in De Panne, then transformed into a military hospital.

In 2011, the instrument is completely restored in the Ateliers of Piano’s Maene. This precision work is carried out with the utmost respect for the unique artistic and historical value of the instrument, so that the grand piano is again completely structurally stable and regains the authentic rich sound and touch of its time. Since then, the piano has once again been ready for intensive artistic use and is at the disposal of the most talented young pianists in the world during their residency in the Music Chapel, as well as for concerts by Masters of international renown. Anima Eterna Brugge, an ensemble specialized in historical performance practice, recently used the grand piano as part of a project dedicated to authentic instruments and repertoire from the interwar period.

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